Reviews

Casting choice of main leads

This live action of the manga pleasantly surprised me. I have seen Meguro Ren in Silent but I wasn't as captivated by him as when I've seen him in this film. He was mesmerizing. The charisma he was giving off was fabulous. The long hair along with his sharp jawline takes the cake as it made him more masculine and captivating. Imada Mio was such a refreshing sight as Miyo. She was perfect for the role. Great chemistry from both. Superb casting.

The movie couldn't cram everything from the manga so I hope there is a second movie. The story gets more interesting especially for Miyo.

I get that some may wish for this to be a series instead but I'm content with how the movie was done. Execution was great, could've polished some scenes that the non-manga readers may not understand. But all in all, one of the best live action film currently.

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In 2015, Taiwan passed an amendment to the law that foreigners infected with HIV and living in Taiwan will no longer be deported out of the country.
The plot of the film takes place in 2013, two years before this novel. Jim lives with Mike, who is from Malaysia, and subsequently everyone probably already knows what will happen.
Where the Taiwanese keep getting new and new actors .... very well acted, believable, natural, as if the two really lived together, only these two characters appear in the film ... and the ending (!)

V roce 2015 Taiwan schválil novelu zákona, že cizinci infikováni virem HIV a žijící na Taiwanu již nebudou deportováni pryč ze země.
Děj filmu se odehrává v r. 2013, dva roky před touto novelou. Jim žije s Mikem, který je z Malajsie a následně už asi všichni tuší, jaký bude děj.
Kde ti Taiwanci berou stále nové a nové herce .... moc hezky zahrané, uvěřitelné, přirozené, jako by ti dva spolu opravdu žili, ve filmu vystupují jen tyto dvě postavy ... a ten konec (!)

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The very beginning was fresh and nice, a few minutes into the opening credits, it would have been a good short ("Did you forget something? Yes. You!"). Overall, I agree that this part got rid of Pinoy deposits, did not branch out and lacked dismembering trances, but that was perhaps to be expected from this director (he also directed the successful Gameboys). Everything came very close to the western format. Acting very solid, believable. However, I had a little problem with the character of Tina, from whom the script made a hysterical, sometimes even a moronic psychopath, and the film's "means", for example in the constant smoking with a shaking hand, were very transparent to me. That's why I reduced one point for the story, originally I wanted to give a pure nine. I also appreciate very tasteful soft erotica, when nothing was "shown" anywhere and the characters were not "getting along" somewhere by the wall through jeans or up to the navel through a sweatshirt, etc., and there are also dirty words, so I rather do not recommend it to some gentle ladies here??


Hned začátek byl svěží a hezký, několik minut do zahajovacích titulků, z toho by byl dobrý kraťas ("Zapomněl jsi něco? Ano. Tebe!"). Celkově kvituji, že se toto dílko oprostilo od pinoy nánosů, nevětvilo se a chyběly pitvořící se transky, ale to se snad i dalo od tohoto režiséra čekat (režíroval i úspěšný Gameboys). Vše se hodně přiblížilo západnímu formátu. Herecké výkony velmi solidní, uvěřitené. Malinko jsem měl postupem ale problém s postavou Tina, ze kterého scénář udělal hysterku, mnohdy až debilního psychopata a filmové "prostředky" např. v neustálém kouření třesoucí se rukou byly na mě hodně průhledné. Proto jsem za příběh jeden bodík snížil, původně jsem chtěl dát čistou devítku. Oceňuji též velmi vkusnou jemnou erotiku, kdy nebylo nikde a nic "ukázáno" a postavy se "neládovaly" někde u stěny přes rifle nebo do pupku přes mikinu atd., a jsou tam i sprostá slova, takže některým zdejším jemným dámám spíše nedoporučuji ??

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Inferior to the prequel

On a surface level, I don't think either this film nor the first film were that unique — the premise and plot development is all relatively expected. But while Part 1 had a really powerful screen presence from its main characters, Part 2 opts for a more cliche, unspeaking "fish-out-of-water" superpowered lead, who doesn't really stand out from the overwhelming number of side characters (there like like four different antagonist groups) who all have the same "badass bad guy" personality.

The plot itself does feel less directed. Whereas there was a clear goal in the first one, this one felt much more passive; we spent basically the entire movie waiting for the bad guys to catch up to where our main characters were, siting still.

With that being said, as someone who understands both English and Mandarin, I did not really enjoy either of those groups. The English sounded fine, but the acting was not good, and it was very annoying to hear "Chief! Chief!" every other line. The Mandarin just did not sound good.

I think the final thing that just made this film feel more unserious was the special effects. There was something very nerve-wracking about all the Part 1 fights being up close and personal, even though everyone had super strength. It made everything scarier and bloodier. In this one, they opt for something in the vein of what the kdramas Strong Woman Bong-soon and Strong Girl Nam-soon went for — people getting punched and flying back 500 feet. It feels more comedic and doesn't at all match the serious tone the film seems to want to go for.

While I didn't dislike the main character, she was just...fine, especially in contrast to the main character from Part 1. In fact, it was amazing how much screen presence Ko Ja-yoon had when she finally appeared, and I realized I'd rather have gotten a story about her journey to getting where she is now, rather than time jumping to her return.

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Don't recommend watching if you are watching due to the TV series Love O2O

DON'T WATCH AND WASTE YOUR TIME
The story is similar to the TV series Love O2O. To be more precise, it's a combination of good/popular scenes from the series. It's not in a flow, more like they have enacted scenes and pieced them together. The male and female lead personalities have changed and have gotten rid of many characters and lack of character development. That 1hr 40min was a complete waste of my time, don't recommend watching even if you are super bored. If you want to watch Love O2O then the TV series is the one to go to.
Whoever is able to watch this movie more than once I bow down to you. I was suffering through the entire movie and barely finished watching it.

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True to life

The movie beautifully yet realistically portrays the life of seven friends from a small town and how they go to Tokyo for a better life, how they mature over time as they face the cut throat competition of a large city and the harshness of life.

The initial premise of the movie could have been better to give a better overview of the friends and their relationships and how they are held together as a group. However, the movie frequently flashbacks to the past to show certain significant moments in the character's life.
The movie very realistically portrays how people from small town in search of opportunities can easily go astray in life once they set foot on a megacity and can get easily overwhelmed ultimately leading to a bad end. It also portrays that simply having talent won't cut it in today's world, and even if you can survive that, you simply just can't do things as per your wish.

Overall the movie might feel depressing(it also is) to most people, that's mostly because of its accurate representation of real life. The movie can be thought of as a coming of age movie, and i believe the target demographic is the late teens to twenties as they will find the movie very relatable.

If you fall in that demographic, its a great watch, but avoid watching when you are feeling depressed or sad. Recommended.

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watched it for Jung So Min at first, but in the end I loved everything about it

Love Reset is a delightful romcom that had me laughing from start to finish. The movie cleverly embraces cliché scenes and over-exaggerated acting, creating a humorous atmosphere. The comedic timing in the film is spot-on, and it effectively balances the dramatic and comedic elements in its storytelling. The film delves into their past relationship, exploring the reasons behind their decision to divorce and the challenges they face in rediscovering their love for each other. Themes of forgiveness, second chances, and the importance of communication in relationships are skillfully woven into the narrative. What I appreciated most about Love Reset is that it stays true to its genre, delivering a lighthearted and fun experience. While it touches on the complexities of marriage and the pursuit of second chances in love, it never loses its light and enjoyable tone.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed watching "Love Reset" and would give it an 8/10 rating. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a feel-good romcom that will leave you with a smile on your face.

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The film had a lot of potential, which in my opinion was partly underutilized. Both main characters are very likeable - Albert Goza (Gerry), an almost new actor, and Miko Pasamonte (Paolo), known to me from several films also listed here. Both of them have been through a lot and enter into a "strange" relationship without emotional ties to prepare each other for when each of them will meet their Mr. Right. Soon, however, "something" develops that transcends the terms of their mutual relationship. But what surprised me was the music in the second half. I can't understand at all if it was artificially added when watching online or if it is really part of the movie. Absolutely horrifying, horrible, out of place. And on top of that, the actress Renée Gozon played an affected, dismembering character, who kept getting goats out, and the well-known director GA Villafuerte, who is already dead, flashes there.

Film měl velký potenciál, který byl dle mě zčásti nevyužit. Obě hlavní postavy moc sympatické - herecký téměř nováček Albert Goza (Gerry) a mě známý z několika filmů i zde uvedených Miko Pasamonte (Paolo). Oba už mají za sebou leccos a uzavírají "divný" vztah bez citových vazeb, aby se vzájemně připravili na to, až každý z nich potká toho svého Pana Pravého. Brzy se však vyvine "něco", co překročí podmínky jejich vzájemného vztahu. Co mě ale zarazilo, byla v druhé půli hudba. Vůbec to nemůžu pochopit, jestli při online sledování tam byla přidána uměle a nebo to je vážně součást filmu. Naprosto děsivé, příšerné, nehodící se. A k tomu herečka Renée Gozon tam hrála afektovanou pitvořící se postavu, které neustále lezly ven kozy a mihne se tam i nám známý režisér GA Villafuerte, který už je po smrti.

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A pleasant short film where the emphasis was placed and most of the time also on both the two main actors of the characters Red and Nikko and it was played very nicely, gently. There were no Pinoy mannerisms and I was surprised that there were already end credits that took almost a quarter of the entire footage, so I expected that after the credits there would be the "real" ending. He wasn't. Just life...


Příjemný krátky film, kde byl důraz kladen a většina času též na oba dva hlavní herce postav Red-a a Nikko a byl zahrán velmi pěkně, jemně. Nebyly tam žádné pinoy manýry a překvapilo mě, že už jsou závěrečné titulky, které zabraly téměř čtvrtinu celé stopáže, čekal jsem tudíž, že po titulcích bude ten "pravý" konec. Nebyl. Prostě život ...

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Ballerina is a perfectly adequate female-led South Korean actioner.

Korean revenge. Another one. I'm this close to making a list!
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Stunts - 79/100 | Some fine stunts in there, but the actual award here would go to the sound editing in this movie, which was really on-point.

Narrative - 71/100 | It's pointless to try and reinvent the wheel in the revenge genre. Martial arts movie lovers want their martial arts movies to end in a fight scene. Revenge movie lovers want their movies to be about revenge and to end in revenge. That's just how it is. In this one, we've got both, but the movie didn't excel at either.

Fight Choreography - 70/100 | The ending fight scene, although a bit brief, was delightfully chaotic. The rest was messy but still managed to be decent. This is an example of how you can still have good (but definitely not great) fight scenes even if they're over-edited. We can follow what's going on through the cuts.

Enjoyment - 70/100 | If my job as a Producer was to hire a director to make a Korean revenge story that's representative of the genre as a whole with decent action and visuals and a story that's engaging enough, I'd hope and hopefully expect to receive about this in terms of end product. And I'd be fine with it and consider it a job well done and money well spent.

So, basically, thumbs up

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um bom retrato do luto

"talvez eu nunca goste de mim mesma. isso me assusta um pouco"

estou contente que essa foi a minha primeira escolha de filme para começar o ano pois foi uma boa escolha. é uma história muito bem contada, tem detalhes incríveis em conjunto com uma fotografia que chega a ser absurda e personagens interessesantes

eu tenho pensado bastante como o luto é retratado aqui, não me parece uma coisa sutil mas também não é um luto que se comporta como avassalador. parece que ele só está ali, na espreita, e dias são mais fáceis e outros são mais complicados. eu consegui perceber na mana a sensação de você querer seguir em frente mas não conseguir e parece tão injusto que as outras pessoas tenham conseguido fazer isso, parece um insulto a memória da pessoa. parece que com o tempo passando e ela vendo as gravações a ideia da morte fica muito mais palpável e visitar alguns lugares que lembram a sumire torna o fardo algo mais tolerável mas a lembrança da presença da sumire ainda parece algo ardente.

gostei muito do filme ter dado uma visão de ambas meninas, tira a dúvida sobre um sentimento unilateral e mostra um aprofundamento na relação das duas. ter mostrado como foi o último dia da sumire foi algo que eu não estava esperando e a finalização da obra com a animação a consolidou como um ótimo filme.

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A really nice and heartwarming youth romance - a stand-out in this genre <3

This movie is about the development of the relationship between two highschool students, through an exchange of a diary. The premise of the story is super simple and worked very well. It was just a super cute and heartwarming youth romance featuring some lovely friendship as well. The pacing of the plot was good and the evolution of the relationships between the protaganists felt very natural.

The acting was very good: the female lead was a really sweet chipmunk and the male lead was handsome with a lively personnality. Both worked very well together as well as with the secondary cast acting as their friends. I will for sure be looking for more dramas / movies with Takahashi Fumiya because he was really charming and gave a lot of charisma to a role that could otherwise have felt very flat.

The production value was pretty great: the decors are colorful and warm with a lot of details. The soundtrack is really diverse and in line with the story and the love of music of the main characters.

I would recommend this to people looking for a sweet highschool romance. It is pretty classic for the genre but it is really well done and was able to brought me a lot of feelings when I watch it. The filmmaking, the directing and the acting combined to a well-conceived scenario will provide you all the feels.

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"Friend Zone": Dive into Love and Laughter

Overview:
Friend Zone, a romantic comedy featuring the real-life couple Baifern Pimchanok and Nine Naphat, explores the classic theme of best friends turning into lovers. Despite a seemingly cliché premise, the film manages to deliver an entertaining and charming narrative.

Plot:
For a decade, Palm (Nine Naphat) has harbored feelings for his best friend Gink (Baifern Pimchanok), who initially rejected his advances. The story cleverly navigates their evolving relationship, incorporating elements of friendship, unrequited love, and the challenges of transitioning from platonic to romantic connections. The plot, while predictable, unfolds with a delightful mix of humor and genuine emotion.

Characterization:
Baifern Pimchanok shines as Gink, portraying a lively girl with a complex background. Her emotional scenes are compelling, showcasing her versatility as an actress. Nine Naphat, as Palm, effectively captures the character's dedication, even if his role lacks some of the emotional depth seen in Baifern's performance. The chemistry between the leads is palpable, contributing to the film's overall appeal.

Acting:
Both Baifern and Nine deliver solid performances, striking a balance between humor and heartfelt moments. Baifern's emotional scenes are a standout, while Nine's portrayal of Palm remains convincing, even if the character doesn't delve into intense emotional territory. The on-screen chemistry between the real-life couple adds authenticity to their characters' evolving relationship.

Music:
The film's soundtrack enhances the romantic and comedic elements, adding a cute and enjoyable dimension to the viewing experience. The music complements the feel-good atmosphere of the movie, contributing to its overall charm.

Recommendation:

Friend Zone is recommended for those seeking a lighthearted romantic comedy with strong chemistry between the leads. The engaging performances, well-executed plot, and delightful soundtrack make it an enjoyable watch, offering a perfect blend of humor and romance.

Overall, Friend Zone proves that even within the confines of a familiar storyline, a talented cast and well-crafted execution can elevate a romantic comedy to an entertaining and heartwarming experience.

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